Getting out of Bed
by JustClem
Summary: Max is the bestest, sweetest friend Chloe could ask for, but man! It's always a real work to get her out of bed, especially on a weekend. Luckily, Chloe's got a few tricks up her sleeve. (One of those tricks being a tickle attack.)


"Psst. Max. Wake up."

Max, curled up into the smallest ball possible at her side, grumbled, which elected an annoyed and overdramatic sigh.

"Pretty fucking please with cherry on top?"

Oh, wowzer. Did Chloe just say the bad word? Not just damn or hell - even thinking of those words made her body squirm - but the _super_ bad word?

Jeez. If William - or, Dog forbid, Joyce - were here… Chloe would, like, lose all of her money to the swear jar! They would probably ground her too! Maybe even confiscate her cool new flip phone!

"If you don't get your butt off of our bed, then I'm gonna have to tickle you, Caulfield."

Max whined and brought all of her limbs closer to her chest, intending to fold herself up as neatly as possible, not even caring that Chloe said 'our bed' instead of 'my bed' because, well, with how often Max hung out and slept here, this was basically their room now.

"Don't wanna..." she mumbled.

"Don't make me do it, missy!"

Despite not wanting to get out of bed - c'mon! It was Sunday! - Max smiled.

"One…"

Max heard footsteps, closing in on her. With each echoing step, Max's chest shuddered.

"Two… Don't make me, Maxine…"

Darn, using her full name? Chloe was really bringing in her A game. Max let out a scared voiceless shriek. It was the kind of shriek girls at horror movies would use when they were about to be slashed off by the killers… not that Max had ever really watched those scary parts, she usually just closed her eyes and held her ears and hid into Chloe's collarbone until it was over.

The footsteps stopped.

Max, holding her breath, expected Chloe to unleash her horrendous tickle attacks, so she was alarmed when nothing greeted her but uncomfortable silence.

"Umm… Chloe?" she called out, her voice thick and raspy with sleep, unwilling to move. This bed smelled like Chloe, which was a good thing, since everything about Chloe was good. She liked sleeping here more than she did in her own bed.

No answer.

It was probably a prank. Chloe loved pranks.

But… what if she wasn't okay? What if something had happened? What if Chloe got, like, a heart attack or something?! Max should probably do something!

Max's body begged for her to get up, and after a few seconds of fighting it, she relented, pushing herself off of the bed into a sitting position with her arms, squinting in confusion when she didn't spot Chloe in front of her.

"... Chlo-"

"TICKLE ATTACK!"

The attack didn't come from the front! It came from the left! No! She'd been duped!

Chloe, the vicious prey, pushed her back down and attacked right at her weak spots. Max's squeal broke into a laughter of delight, and through her own girlish half-screams half-giggles, Max could see Chloe letting out her own, more controlled giggles.

"N-no- Chloe- ah!" Trying to tell Chloe to stop was futile. Chloe was just too good at tickling and Max was too incoherent to form a complete sentence, or even a complete word, for that matter. "S-stop!"

The tickle attack ended in a satisfying manner. Max, still breathy and sweaty, looked up at Chloe though wasn't able to see her well due to her watery eyes and her black hair covering said eyes.

Max's smile was so wide it hurt the tip of her rosy cheeks, not that she minded.

Chloe's hands rested on her t-shirt covered collarbones, tracing meaningless patterns on the fabric. Max's arms hovered awkwardly hovered at Chloe's side, but only for a couple of seconds because Max put them on Chloe's hips. She wasn't sure why. The gesture had seemed like it was nice to do, and it _was_ nice to do it. Plus, maybe it helped with Chloe's balance, or something. Or maybe it was because she just liked touching Chloe.

Chloe didn't seem to mind much. In fact, her grin widened, which was surprising considering it was wide enough as it was. If she grinned any wider Max feared her cheekbones would, like, implode.

They just stayed that way. Chloe kind of straddling Max, and Max kind of being straddled. It was always a 'kind of' and a 'maybe' between them, about some things. No explanations were needed. Things just kind of maybe happened. They were Max and Chloe. They didn't need explanations, they never had.

"Are you awake now, Maximilian?"

The taunting in Chloe's tone clashed with the pure glee in her face, and Max found herself not caring when she admitted, "Yeah. I'm awake."

Chloe's smile dimmed yet was still as genuine and as nice to look at. When she nodded, a few strands of her strawberry-blonde hair tickled Max's chin. "Good."

"... I still don't wanna get out of bed, though."

Chloe tried to glare a disapproving glare, and it kind of reminded Max of Joyce, but Max knew it was just an act. Chloe wouldn't be upset that Max liked to cuddle up in their bed. Usually, that sort of thing happened when Max was afraid of talking to new people or thought she would never really be good enough at anything.

A relenting sigh. "Fine…" Chloe's frown looked genuine and solemn, so Max was forced to tone down her silliness and wonder if she'd said something wrong. "I guess I'll just have to carry you."

… Huh?

Hold on- wait- _what?!_

By the time Max caught on to what Chloe was saying, it was too late. Chloe had slipped an arm below Max's tiny legs, and another around her neck, fingers digging themselves into Max's crown.

Chloe's grunt was drowned out by Max's shout of "Chloe!" that would've sounded angry if not for that the giggles that came along with it.

When Chloe's feet touched the ground, Max's arms hugged Chloe's neck, and their noses sort of bumped into each other's. Their faces were so close, but Max didn't mind. This was Chloe. Why should she care about silly things like this?

Why was it that Max was always happy whenever she was around Chloe, even when Chloe was doing something reckless and potentially painful?

Being around Chloe erased the prospect of sadness and fear. And it was awesome. Like, super duper mega awesome. The awesomest of awesome.

Chloe may be bigger and stronger, but she wasn't Max's dad, and her feet wobbled and she teetered to the side.

Max squeaked.

Chloe laughed at Max's squeak.

"Calm down, Max. I'm not gonna anything hurt you."

This wasn't the first time Chloe said this, or even the tenth or hundredth time, for that matter.

And it wasn't the first, nor tenth, nor hundredth time those words calmed Max down, too.

But even when Max believed Chloe - Chloe had never proven anything that would make her doubt otherwise, of course - she felt the need to question Chloe. Interrogate her, even. Test her limits and stuff.

"Not even from, like, high schoolers?"

"Nope."

"What about… skaters?"

They'd never picked on her or anything - probably because Max usually try to keep a, ten, twenty, maybe fifty kilometers distance from them at all times - but they looked scary with their tall figures and ragged clothes and uncaring attitude and their smoking and- well- everything.

Chloe, always the strong and brave, snorted. "I could take 'em."

Max furrowed her brows. "Really?" It wasn't that she doubted Chloe, but… Chloe was kind of smaller than them, not to mention they were many while Chloe was just one.

Chloe looked determined and unbothered. "They're losers anyway, Maxie. They can't hurt anyone."

Yeah… She guessed Chloe was right… But still, people like that scared her…

"What about punks?"

As scary as skaters were, they were nothing compared to punks. Nothing was.

"Punks?" Chloe parroted, a toothy grin slowly easing itself into her mouth, endearment twinkling in both her voice and her eyes.

Max nodded, serious. "Yeah. You know, with their pierced ears and leather jackets and their-" shudder "-dyed hair."

Chloe clicked her tongue, her body swaying as she made the movement. It only occured to Max now that she'd been hoisting her up like a princess this entire time. Whoa, if she could handle this, then maybe she really _could_ win a fight against those skaters.

"I don't see the problem with those punk losers. They look kind of cool."

Max's mouth opened to disagree, but Joyce, from downstairs, yelled, "Girls! Breakfast is ready!"

The two girls looked at each other - their noses touching. Max wearily looked at Chloe in apprehension. Chloe, not able to sense what might go wrong, shrugged and took a step. Max tightened her grip around Chloe's neck. She hissed in fear when Chloe swayed as she took the other step.

"Please put me down, Chloe."

"Nah-" a grunt "-I can-" another grunt, followed by a pant "-do it, no need to-" a grunt "-worry, Maxy."

That was kind of a weird thing to say. Max would always worry about Chloe.

The door slammed open. It startled Max to yelp and Chloe to jump and lose balance and fall down on the floor.

Max closed her eyes, sensed a pair of arms hugging her, and melted into the body before her.

The 'thud!' that followed sounded painful, but Max didn't feel any pain, surprisingly.

Max, scared, continued to let Chloe hold her and refused to open her eyes, even when the fall had already happened.

"Do I even want to know what you two were doing?" Even though Joyce sounded mad, there was a hint of amusement to her tone, kind of like how earlier, Chloe had pretended to be mad, even though she wasn't, only it was different because Joyce wasn't Chloe.

"Umm… exercising?"

That answer drew a toothy smile from Max and a chuckle from Joyce. "Just don't be late for breakfast, you hear?"

"Aye-aye, Madre!"

There was silence, and Max imagined that the mother and the daughter were having a heartfelt eye-contact standoff.

Max peeked out of Chloe when the door closed and the footsteps grew quieter, and found Chloe looking down at her again.

"Hiya."

Max blinked. Chloe was on her back, and she had her arms around Max, who basically put all of her weight onto Chloe, her arms resting comfortably on Chloe's shoulders.

This was kind of like their positions earlier, only reversed.

"Um… Hi." Max blinked again, and remembered how to be mad. "What the heck, Chloe?!" She gave a light push to Chloe. "If you couldn't handle carrying me, why didn't you say so?!"

Chloe pursed her lips, giving a frown of her own, though hers looked more confused than anything. "Well, I mean, I _could've_ handled it. 'S not my fault Mom barged in on us like that."

Max, face hot, sat up, facing away from Chloe, crossing her arms.

"Max?"

Max was sure her face was red and her eyes were kind of producing tears, but she didn't want Chloe to know that, so she did nothing. She didn't even shrug or make a sound. She was, like, practically a statue.

"Hey, why're you mad?"

Chloe's hand touched the small of her back, gentle, unsure.

Max's resolve began to falter, and the shudder Chloe's touch caused turned into trembles she hoped Chloe wouldn't be able to sense nor see.

"C'mon, dude! Just talk to me-"

"Because you always do this!" Max turned around, facing the now bewildered Chloe, surprised that her own voice was so loud. "You never told me when you can't handle stuff! And you get hurt because of it! Like, every time!"

Chloe looked annoyed, but she tried to control that annoyance, which she never did with anyone else.

"Max, what are you talking about? I'm fine-"

"See!" Max pointed at her, her frown deepening. "You're doing it right now! I'm not a kid anymore, Chloe! I know when something's wrong!"

"Dude! You're overreacting-"

"No, I'm not!" Maybe she was, but Chloe didn't need to know that. "You- I know you don't want me to get scared but you shouldn't try to hide stuff from me!"

"Then what the hell should I do?!"

Max refused to flinch from Chloe's abrasive tone. Doing so would sadden Chloe, and seeing Chloe sad would make _her_ sad.

Instead she sighed, and looked at Chloe, and kept a cool head. Someone had to, and it wasn't going to be Chloe.

Chloe looked more distraught than angry, even if her brows were furrowed and her lips were curled down and her face was reddening.

"Why don't you just tell me about it, Chloe?" she asked, and put a hand on Chloe's knee, only with slight hesitance. "It's only me, you know. It's fine when you try to act all tough in front of those skater boys and scary punks, but… It's not like I'm gonna laugh at you or whatever."

Chloe blinked. "Really?" she blurted out, and shut her lips, her cheeks adopting a pink hue.

Max's annoyance bubbled. "Yes. I mean, c'mon, Chloe. I've seen you, like, cry and stuff. You don't need to act all tough around me."

"I'm not acting tough. I _am _tough."

"Yeah, but not always…" Just most of the time, but this wasn't the time to boost Chloe's already large ego. Max leaned to her, her hand pulling away from Chloe's knee only to touch her cheek. Max didn't know why she did it, only that it seemed right to do and it made Chloe happy. "If you get to see me all sad and crying like a baby, don't I get to see you be a baby too?"

Chloe snorted and smiled, apparently finding _something_ amusing. "Do I get to be a cool baby?"

Max's anger was long gone, especially since Chloe was actually going along with her words. She beamed as she said, "The coolest baby ever."

Chloe snorted again and headlocked Max - electing a yelp - ruffling her hair. "Alright, you little rascal. You win."

"It's not about winning," said Max, in-between giggles. She'd normally hate it when others headlocked her since it made her feel like a kid, but not when Chloe did it. "It's about stopping you from being dumb."

Chloe made an offended gasping sound, freeing Max from her headlock only to grab her by the shoulders and look at her, looking as happy as she could be, which made Max happy. "Oh, so I'm dumb _and_ a baby?"

Seeing Chloe, being close with her, being able to smell and sense and hear her, made Max feel a million - maybe even a super bajillion - happy feelings. It made her braver, smarter, more confident, and more content with herself.

It made her want to kiss Chloe on the cheek.

It did make her kiss Chloe on the cheek.

When Max pulled away, she didn't feel an ounce of regret. Why should she? This was Chloe, one of the absolute best things in her small, boring life.

Kissing her felt right.

And Chloe looked happier now than she did before Max had kissed her, which was pretty awesome because Chloe was already really happy to begin with.

"Girls! Hurry!"

Chloe snickered, which made Max snicker too, even though there wasn't anything worth snickering about.

Chloe jumped up, tied one hand behind her back, and offered the other to Max, looking like a prince from the days of castles and kingdoms and knights and dragons.

"My lady."

Okay, yeah, Chloe would be a horrible prince. She looked more like a knight.

If Chloe was the knight, did that make Max the princess?

Max accepted the offer and let Chloe pull her up, frowning when Chloe winced.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's cool." Chloe looked at Max, and her nonchalant smile turned into a wince. "Fine. My knuckle hurts, but only a bit."

The way she said 'only a bit' worried Max more, so she grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled it up to inspect it. It was red and looked like it stung.

"Oh no…"

"It's fine, really."

Max shook her head and brought it up to her lips. Chloe always did it to her when she was hurt, and it made Max feel better in a weird way, so maybe this made Chloe feel better too!

Max looked up and found Chloe red in the face. Oh, no. Did Max mess it up somehow?

But Chloe shook her head and smiled a smile that was clumsy but nice to look at.

"C'mon, Max. Let's get breakfast."

"Okay."

As they descended down the stairs, neither of them let go of each other's hand and neither noticed.


End file.
